


Tethers

by loveliescrossing



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Dark Number Five | The Boy, F/M, Humiliation, I promise, M for themes, More chill than it sounds, Obsessive Behavior, Possessive Behavior
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:47:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26167405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveliescrossing/pseuds/loveliescrossing
Summary: Vanya hadn't seen Five in over two years, and now she was about to turn up, completely out of the blue, and she was terrified.Vanya and Five have a falling out at their father's funeral when Vanya tells him she's getting married to someone else, but when her marriage starts to go badly wrong, she is forced to turn to Five for help, even after she swore she wouldn't. After all, he told her that if she ever came back, he'd never let her go.
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy/Vanya Hargreeves
Comments: 38
Kudos: 294





	Tethers

Vanya tapped her foot nervously as she looked out of the train window. She was tense; her palms already slick with sweat and pulse already elevated enough that she could feel her heart thumping in her chest. She almost couldn't believe what she was about to do. In fact, there was every chance that she would turn tail the instant the train next stopped. But no. She swallowed and looked down. She knew she was desperate. She wouldn't have come in the first place if she wasn't.

Vanya hadn't seen Five in over two years, and now she was about to turn up, completely out of the blue, and she was terrified. She hadn't seen any of her siblings much over the past few years. An occasional phone call from her sister Allison was really all the contact she had had since she had married Leonard shortly after the death of their father. The funeral was the last time Vanya had seen all of her siblings. She had seen most of them again at her wedding, but Five had chosen not to attend. 

It had hurt her that Five hadn't come to her wedding. She had known he was angry, but she had still hoped he would turn up just for that day. Some of their siblings made excuses for him. Ben had shrugged and grimaced as he told her that Five was just really busy. He had taken over the handling of the family's business conglomerate after the death of their father and the transition was taking its toll. Diego just said he was an asshole.

Vanya was sure Five was busy. He was always busy, but she had difficulty believing that he was having trouble adjusting to his position as head of the company. After all, it was something he had been groomed for his entire life, and something he had coveted nearly as long. No, Vanya had known why Five hadn't come to her wedding. She had last spoken to Five at their father's funeral. Well, more like yelled than spoken. It hadn't been pretty.

Before that day, Vanya had never raised her voice at Five. In fact, Vanya wasn't sure if she had ever raised her voice at all. She had always been a quiet, obedient kind of person; she had always timidly followed the demands of her father, though somehow her mild acquiescence had always seemed to make her father hate her more than before. Useless, spineless, weak, he would say. No mind for business, no need to be trained to work for the family company like the rest of her siblings. Vanya had been allowed to study music instead.

Five had always been her complete opposite. Right from the start he had been ambitious and clever enough to meet even the highest expectations Sir Reginald Hargreeves set for his seven adopted children. Five was cold, clever, determined, and he didn't shy away from what he was being trained to be. The rest of them had always sought some refuge of normalcy from their father's Spartan approach to indoctrinating them into the family business, but Five was different.

When Grace, their longest serving nanny, had offered to give them names to replace the numbers their father had assigned them upon adoption, Five had refused. He had no need, and he had no interest. While Vanya had clung to her new name like a lifeline for her very existence, the idea of a normal name meant less than nothing to Five. He wasn't normal, and he didn't want to be. He was better than normal, and he knew it.

But despite their differences, Five had always been Vanya's closest confidant growing up. They had been drawn to one another from a young age, both preferring each other's company to that of their other siblings. Five had loved to talk endlessly of all the things he was learning, and Vanya would listen. And when Vanya started to learn how to play the violin, Five would listen to her too.

Five, cold, confident, assuming, and most importantly, successful at meeting their father's expectations, had frequently been resented by his other siblings. Particularly but Luther, who had struggled in vain to prove to their father that he was a worthy heir until it became obvious that Five would ultimately be named the successor. 

Vanya had also been resented by her siblings for being the only one not forced into the family business. She knew that they all wanted normal lives, but Vanya could never make them understand that being deemed too weak to be noticed by their father didn't make Vanya feel normal, it only made her feel worthless. After all, despite being too pathetic to be trained for business, Vanya was never allowed to live as a regular child. Their father was sure that Vanya would disgrace the family name if she so much as set foot outside, so she was locked up even more than the rest of them.

Perhaps that was why she and Five had been so close in their teenage years. Vanya had always known she would play no part in the family business, so she never felt any need to compete with Five, and Five was too sure of his own superiority to ever covet the mediocrity for which Vanya seemed doomed. 

Vanya could still remember the late nights they had stayed up talking after the rest of their family had gone to sleep. She remembered the way he would smirk and how her whole body would flush in response. She remembered the quiet fervor that burned in his eyes when he spoke of how things would be for them when he succeeded their father. She remembered the moment he took her hand, stared unblinkingly into her eyes, and told her with an unnervingly sincere severity that he would never leave her alone. 

She remembered one year later when he left for university and business school while she was permitted by their father to attend a local music college. She remembered how he didn't call, didn't write, didn't visit, and she remembered how he started work for their father in a far off city that she would never be allowed to visit.

Vanya wasn't stupid. She knew it was most likely the case that Five's silence was forced by their father's hand, that he was only complying to prove something to their father and secure his place as his heir, but knowing that even Five would relinquish her to please their father and feed his own ambition just made it hurt more. 

It was at college that she met Leonard Peabody, an average student who was intent on succeeding his father's small woodworking shop. He had been understanding, unassuming, and just a bit dull. As the years went on, slowly but surely, he had whittled down Vanya's defenses and convinced her to marry him.

Not long after Vanya became engaged, Sir Reginald Hargreeves passed away, and his seven adopted children were all brought together for the first time in several years to attend his funeral. Besides Vanya, who worked as a music tutor to children learning to play the violin, they had all been working in different sectors of the family company and rarely saw one another. 

It went about as well as any Hargreeves family function could be expected to go. Luther and Diego started bickering within five minutes. Allison and Ben tried desperately, and mostly in vain, to keep the funeral respectable and orderly. Klaus was dead drunk before the ceremony even started. Vanya had been glad she had told Leonard to stay home when he offered to come.

Vanya hadn't really expected any of them to be greatly touched by their father's death, so it was not surprise that made her heart leap in her chest when she saw Five walk into the funeral with his signature smirk plastered across his face, satisfaction evident from his expression.

Five had looked around and quickly caught her eye. His smirk widened into his classic shiteating grin at the sight of her and Vanya felt her face heat up as she looked away without smiling back. How could he still do that to her with just a look? She was an engaged woman, committed to someone else.

"Vanya," came a smooth voice from above her. Vanya started and put a hand to her chest, looking up to see Five, who had walked over while she was momentarily distracted.

She took a moment to study him. He was so tall now. His black hair was styled as neatly as ever, and his light green eyes still seemed to pierce into her as though he wanted to peel back all her layers and leave her exposed. He of course looked older now, handsome in a way that held a manly refinement yet still retained some of his boyish charm. His dark suit gave him a crisp, professional look.

"Five," she returned quietly, a little out of breath. They hadn't spoken for years, and there was a tension between them, but it wasn't the awkward tension Vanya had been anticipating. 

Looking into Five's face again, she could see the intensity burning in his eyes, and she knew that in his mind nothing had changed. She felt the bile rise in her throat at the thought of disappointing him. She would have to though. She would have to tell him she was engaged.

Five remained beside her for the duration of the funeral, though they didn't have a chance to talk. After the ceremony, the seven siblings met with the executor of their father's estate, and, to no one's surprise, everything of their father's was to be left to Five, his publicly acknowledged heir. As the rest of their siblings were exiting the room, some grumbling quietly, Five caught Vanya by the arm.

"Let's talk," he said, leaning down to whisper in her ear. It wasn't really a request, but Vanya swallowed nervously and nodded anyway. She knew she couldn't put it off any longer. She would have to tell him.

Vanya opened her mouth but closed it before any words came out. She didn't know what to say. But Five did. He was already mid-sentence, talking about the future: about moving back to the city, about moving back into the family home, about taking over their father's business. 

As Vanya listened, she could see the raw intensity sparking in his eyes. Vanya felt her heart leap in her chest when he started to talk about her, about them. She would move back home, quit teaching music lessons and focus on her own music, and they would be together again. Everything would be just how it had been before. 

Vanya felt a melancholy longing for the vision of the future that Five painted. Growing up, it was what she had always wanted, what Five had always promised during the secret, whispered conversations they would have under the cover of night. 

But that was a long time ago, and they had been apart for many years. Vanya had a completely different life now, a life she had forged for herself. She had her music, and she had her students. She had someone who loved her, and she loved him back. Even if it didn't seem like much to some people, she was proud to have made her own way in the world. She knew it was more than her father had expected of her, and she realized now that it was more than Five had expected of her as well.

Five had left her behind, expecting that she would be exactly the same when he came back, but she wasn't. She couldn't be. Vanya took a deep breath.

"Five," she interrupted him, "I'm engaged."

"What?" Five said, his head angling to face her. Vanya looked down, unable to meet his eyes.

"I said, I'm e-engaged," she repeated, stuttering slightly.

"Engaged in what?" he asked. His voice was so casual that Vanya was sure he expected her to say she was engaged in some minor travel arrangements and planning to be out of town for a few days.

"I'm engaged to be married," she told him, finally finding the strength to look to his face. There was a thick pause of silence. Vanya braced herself.

"I don't have a ring yet," he said, "I thought you'd want to wait a while after Dad died."

"I-, not to you!" she sputtered. She could feel her cheeks coloring at his audacity. After years of complete silence, years of living completely separate lives, how could he even entertain the possibility that she had expected to marry him? Even before he had left for school, they had never openly discussed such an arrangement.

"I'm engaged to be married to another man!" Vanya said forcefully.

"That's ridiculous," Five said in a clipped tone. Anger was starting to take hold in his features.

"It's not," she said, her chin jutting up.

"It is," he insisted, "Break it off."

Vanya gaped at him. "I'm not breaking off my engagement just because you say so!"

"Break it off, Vanya," his tone left no room for argument, "Whoever this loser is, he's not good enough for you. He'll never be able to take care of you the way I will."

"I don't need to be taken care of," Vanya insisted, willing him to understand, "I need someone who loves me, who sees me as a partner." Five scoffed cruelly.

"Please, we both know that you have such a massive inferiority complex that anyone you'd put on a low enough level to consider an equal partner would be so pathetic that no decent woman would even consider him a viable option." Vanya flinched at his ruthless words, but she couldn't bring herself to outright deny them. She could feel the grain of truth that always made Five's insults cut so deep. Seeing her start to falter, Five went on more gently,

"You're so helpless on your own, my timid little Vanya. You always have been." He tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear and cupped her cheek with his hand. "You need someone you can depend on, someone who can provide for you, guide you, and show you what you're really worth." He leveled her with an intense gaze from which she couldn't pull away her eyes. "You need me."

"I don't need anything from you," she told him while trying to shake off his hand,"I don't need someone to control me." Five let out a frustrated sigh and he dropped his hands to her shoulders, gripping them.

"Why are you being so resistant?" he asked her earnestly, "The old man is finally dead, Vanya. He's dead, and I have all his money and all his power. There's nothing holding us back anymore. We're so close to having everything we've always wanted."

"You mean everything you've always wanted!" she told him, strong emotion coloring her voice, "It's been years, Five! Years and years! I don't want the same things anymore. You're too late." There was grief in her voice and Five latched onto it.

"I know it hurt when I had to stay away," he told her, his voice suddenly sweet, soothing. He moved his face closer to brush his nose against hers. "I didn't want to, but I needed to secure my position. Now I can take care of us. You'll never want for anything again, Vanya, I swear. I did this for us, for you."

"You didn't do it for me", she snapped angrily, pulling out of his grasp. "You did it for yourself! For your ambition and your ego! We didn't need Dad's money to be together! All I needed was you, but you needed to win, to beat Dad at his own game, more than you needed me! All you've ever cared about is control!" Vanya felt her mouth twist with fury as she yelled, "You're just like Dad!"

Five looked as though he had been slapped across the face. His nostrils flared and Vanya felt a shiver go through her as he fixed her with a look of ice cold fury. She'd seen Five look at people with this kind of cold blooded anger before, but this was the first time it had ever been directed at her.

"Fine, leave," he spat at her, "Go marry that piece of trash. You'll come crawling back. I guarantee it, and when you do-"

"What?" Vanya interrupted angrily, "You won't have me? You'll put me out on the street?"

"No, I'll take you back, and I'll make you pay for every second you spent away from me," he told her in a calm voice that unnerved her more than anger would have, and she took a small step back as he continued, "You think I'm controlling now, Vanya? This is nothing to how I'll be when you come back." He took a step forward, and Vanya could feel her pulse quicken as he loomed over her. "I'll never let you out of my grasp again, not for a single moment. And when I'm through with you, you'll need me so badly that you'll be begging me to take care of you in every conceivable way, and I will."

Vanya couldn't answer him immediately. The unwavering conviction in his voice had morphed her anger into doubt and unease. She wanted to tell him he was wrong, that she wouldn't be back, but she couldn't find the words. Because when he spoke like that, she believed him. She always had. Vanya could feel her hands shaking slightly.

"Goodbye, Five," she said quietly. Five didn't respond, but his eyes never left her as she turned away and left.

Vanya went home to Leonard and didn't tell him anything about what happened. It would have been too hard to explain. Of course he knew she has brothers and a sister, but she had never told how close she had been with Five. Explaining their falling out at the funeral would have been impossible.

Not too long had passed before Vanya began to regret the bitterness in their parting, but she knew she couldn't approach him herself to make amends. She remembered his parting words very well. One step too close and she'd never leave again. 

Vanya's wedding came and went, and she realized she had still been holding out a small hope that Five would show up of his own volition, letting their whole argument just blow over. Of course nothing would be less like Five. She could have laughed at herself for even thinking it. No, if she ever saw Five again it would mean trouble.

Life with Leonard went along peacefully for many months. Vanya couldn't quite say she was happy, but the humdrum of married life suited her well enough. However, eventually things started to change.

It started out small. Leonard was less patient with her, didn't smile as much, started spending more time out alone, drinking, gambling. She could as good as hear Five's voice jeering in her head. What did I tell you? Nothing but a worthlessness deadbeat. You sure no how to pick them, Vanya.

She tried to push those thoughts away. She wouldn't let Five be right this time. This marriage was her chance to live her own life and be happy. Everything was fine. Sometimes people are impatient and sometimes people drink more. It was nothing to get anxious about.

But then Leonard started to ask her about money. He started to badger her about it. He complained that she came from a rich family, but didn't have any money. He said it wasn't fair, to her, of course, he would add as an unconvincing afterthought. 

She remembered his surprise when she first told him her father hadn't left her anything when he died. She told him everything was left to Five. She remembered how his mouth had thinned for just a moment before breaking into an easy grin as he laughed that her father had always been crazy anyway.

She should have known then that he had been after her for her family's money. It was just Leonard's bad luck that Reginald Hargreeves had believed very strongly in playing favorites.

Vanya could hear Five's scathing voice in her head again. I knew you couldn't make it on your own. Only you could get tricked into marrying a con-artist too stupid to make sure that his mark had any money.

She could imagine the way his voice would turn sweet after those harsh remarks. Come home, Vanya, he would say. Come back to me, and let me take care of everything. Vanya shivered.

Soon enough Leonard wanted her to ask her family for money. He wanted her to ask Five for money. Vanya could hardly conceive of the humiliation she would be putting herself through if she turned up on Five's doorstep begging for money at the behest of her husband. 

She could already picture the smug conceit on Five's face. He would smirk, his eyes never leaving hers as he would ask Leonard how much money it would take for him to leave Vanya and never come back. Leonard would give a number and Five would pay it easily. I have all the money and all the power, Five's words echoed in her head.

She told him she couldn't ask to borrow money from Five, that it would be uncomfortable, but Leonard kept asking. Each time she refused, and each time Leonard came away more resentful and bitter. 

Vanya could feel that things were gradually starting to get worse. Leonard's anger was building, and he was lashing out at Vanya more often. Usually it was just words, but more and more, Vanya could sense the violence simmering beneath the surface.

And then one day, everything stopped. Leonard suddenly went back to acting the way he did when they first met. It was like all the tension had melted out of him. Vanya was relieved at first, but it was impossible not to be suspicious. 

She started poking around, and she knew she had found what she was looking for when she discovered a small stack of papers in a false drawer within Leonard's desk. As she read through the papers, she found herself clutching them so tightly that her knuckles started to turn white.

She was holding a life insurance policy for herself. It had been taken out mere days ago, without her knowledge, and Leonard was the beneficiary. Shock and fear washed over her like waves. 

She knew Leonard was getting desperate for money, but she never imagined he would go so far as to kill her for a measly life insurance payout. By now she knew that he had married her in hopes of getting his hands on her family's money, but did he care for her so little? Had he never loved her at all? Her mind answered her in Five's voice. Of course he never loved you. Come home.

Vanya could feel the fear and anguish start to consume her. She was so scared, so hurt, so betrayed, and she wanted so badly to run home to Five and let him make everything better and safe. 

But she was afraid of him as well. She was afraid she would fall into Five's web and be completely consumed, never to emerge again. He had promised as much.

But she had to leave immediately. Leonard could be planning to act at any time. In this moment, she knew she couldn't resist returning to Five any longer. She was desperate for him. She could feel the adrenaline pulse through her as she made her decision. Without even stopping to pack a bag, Vanya left her house and walked down to the train station.

Doubts began to plague Vanya as she sat on the train. She was nervous about seeing Five. Well, nervous was an understatement. She felt like she was about to jump out of her skin. But the thought of turning back, of going anywhere she thought Leonard might find her, was equally frightening. So she kept going, and before she knew it, she was standing at the door of her childhood home, now Five's home, shaking slightly.

She brought her hand up and knocked at the door before she could regret it. The silence that followed her knock was suffocating, and she was equally distressed and relieved when the door finally opened to reveal the old family butler, Pogo.

"Ms. Vanya!" he said with surprise. She offered him a small smile.

"Hi Pogo," she said, "Is Five around?"

Pogo left her in the entryway and went to tell Five of her arrival. Vanya was even more nervous now that she was in the family house again. She wrung her hands as she looked around, melancholy memories beginning to surface. She was startled by Pogo when he came back to tell her that Five would see her in his office. 

Five had taken over their father's office, and it was surreal for her to walk up the long staircase that led to it, remembering all of the times she had been called here to be chastised by their father. Five had more than often been present on those occasions, made to stand quietly to the side. Vanya was never sure if her father was trying to teach Five some kind lesson, or if he just knew it would be more painful for her to have Five watch her be picked apart.

Five was waiting for her when she entered his office. He was seated behind his desk, eyeing her intently. He offered her a cold, expectant smile. Vanya could see that he was in control of himself physically, but his eyes betrayed his eagerness. She may have been expected, but that didn't seem to make her appearance any less gratifying to him.

"Welcome back, Vanya," he greeted her, "You've kept me waiting."

Vanya stood awkwardly in front of his desk, not wanting to meet his eyes. She felt safer now that she was in his presence, away from where Leonard could find her, but the receding of her panic made it harder for her to explain why she had come home. She was embarrassed by her own weakness, crawling back to her brother, just as he said she would. 

"Is there something I can help you with?" He prompted her. His words were causal, but his voice was condescending and expectant. 

"I- I want to come home," she said, wondering if there was any chance that he would be willing to leave it at that. If he would allow her to forgo the humiliation of explaining her marriage's deterioration, if not out of respect then at least out of pity.

"Of course, Vanya, our home is always open to you" he told her, his lip curling, "But may I ask why exactly you've decided to come home? I distinctly remember being told that you didn't need anything from me." 

Vanya cringed at his words. Of course he would make her say it. He wanted to hear her admit that she was wrong when she said she could leave him.

It was completely unnecessary. He knew even better than she did that now that she had set foot in this house again, he would never let her leave it again without his explicit permission. She was his now and he knew it. This was just his petty vengeance for making him wait. He enjoyed needling her like this. With Five, it might even be tantamount to a teasing flirtation.

He sat there cold and poised, but she could sense that he was on fire inside. After months of anticipation, he was finally going to have her submit. He wanted her to say it. He needed her to say it. He needed her to stand in front of their father's desk and demean herself for him the way she had been forced to do for their father when they were children. He had let her slip away in the years he had spent molding himself into their father's ideal, but now he would have her returned to his influence. 

"I-, I need your help, Five. You were right; my marriage was a mistake. I think I'm in danger and I don't know what to do," Vanya told him. She swallowed whatever remained of her pride and forced herself to look into his eyes as she begged, "I need you."

A wide, hungry grin came across his face. Now that she had shown she was going to give him what he wanted, Five couldn't contain himself anymore. He stood up from his chair and went to her. He grabbed her and caged her against his desk so he could loom over her. Vanya's breathing quickened as he leaned down to speak into her ear.

"What do you need help with?" he crooned, one of his hands moving up her side. "Just say the word and I'll take care of it," he promised.

"I- ," she let out a deep breath. With Five's body surrounding her, she finally felt physically secure enough for her tongue to loosen, and her words came out in a rush, "I think Leonard is planning to kill me. He took out a life insurance policy on me. I think he's going to try to kill me for the money."

Five hummed softly in her ear. "And what would you like me to do about it?" he asked her. Somehow Five didn't seem phased by her words, but she was taken aback by his. She felt a stab of pain. Would not even Five care if she were murdered in cold blood?

"I, I don't know, that's-" Vanya stuttered, unable to come up with a coherent answer. Five let out a contented sigh in her ear.

"You're so completely helpless that you don't even know what to ask for without me telling you, do you?" he asked. Vanya blushed, embarrassed to realize he had been teasing her again. She swallowed nervously and gave him the answer she knew he wanted.

"Please, Five, I don't know what to do on my own," she said as she brought one of her hands up to hold onto the front of his shift, "Tell me what to ask for." Five pulled back to be able to look her in the eyes as he spoke.

"Vanya, baby, when a piece of lowlife scum is going to hurt you, you ask me to kill him," Five told her with complete self-assurance, "but you don't have to worry about that this time. Leonard is already dead."

"What?!" Vanya gasped, her eyes widening incredulously at Five.

"Don't worry," Five told her, "It was arranged to look like an accident. No one will suspect anything."

Vanya stared at him in silent astonishment. It was impossible, even for Five. Could he really have had Leonard killed? Just like that? I have all the money and all the power, Five's words echoed in her head again.

"You knew he was planning to kill me before I came here, didn't you?" she asked in a thick voice. No wonder he wasn't shocked when she told him. He had probably been having both her and Leonard watched for months. Five tilted his head slightly as he looked at her.

"Of course I knew, baby. You know I could never risk anything happening to you," he spoke as he brushed his hand gently against her hair. Vanya turned her head away and pressed a hand to her mouth. She had always known Five existed somewhere beyond the confines of conventional morality, but it was another thing to be faced with it directly, even if it had probably saved her life. Though since Five also had the disposition and the power to enforce his belief that Vanya belonged to him in body, mind, and soul, it was going to cost her her life as well.

"Everything's going to be alright, Vanya," he cajoled he softly, and after coaxing her hand away from her mouth, he brought his lips to cover her own.

Vanya took a sharp intake of breath and tried to move back, but Five's hand was already at the back of her head, holding her in place. He held her until she relaxed into the kiss and she started to move softly against him. She could never resist Five for long, regardless of the circumstance. He moved back slightly and rested his forehead against hers.

"Better?" he questioned quietly, and Vanya gave a shaky nod in response. Her heart was still beating rapidly from the kiss, or was it because she just found out that Five had killed her homicidal husband? She wasn't sure at this point. She was starting to feel disoriented and numb. 

"You've had a long day," Five muttered to her in a soothing voice, "How about I run you a nice bath and put you to bed? How does that sound, sweetheart?" Vanya sighed against him and closed her eyes. She knew what he wanted to hear.

"Yes, please take care of me," she pleaded softly. With her eyes closed, Vanya didn't have to see the wolfish smile she knew had spread across Five's face.


End file.
